2011 in heaven: muddled, muted, moody, mature

that'll do, 2011, that'll do. i think we agree by now that there's no such thing as a "bad year in music" but at least from where i was sitting this last one felt a little less than exciting, both in terms of the stuff i was listening to myself (and i listened to a ton – once again, probably more than any previous year, if i had to guess – which might after all have been part of the problem...) and also the consensus faves (meh..Bon Iver, Drake, Destroyer, M83, Adele, Watch Jay-Z + Kanye fail to get us to call them The Throne – sure i listened and enjoyed plenty well enough, but none of that felt especially momentous or truly substantial. tUnE-yArDs and shabazz were intriguing at first, but neither really got its hooks in me. which basically leaves us with azealia and lana, each with ≤2 tracks apiece.)

hard to find any major patterns in my listening... my lists are a pretty typical mish-mash of singer-songwriters both newly discovered (Frank Turner) and long-beloved (Devon, Paul, Jens); pop-minded soul both retro and nuevo (Mayer Hawthorne, Beyoncé, Miguel),
funky-future-dancemusik (Chrissy Murderbot, Four Tet, Jacques Greene) and, sticking out like three ugly blue sore thumbs, one unconscionably old-fashioned record of pure-power pop (Peter Bjorn & John) which i readily forget to care about whatsoever except for whenever it's actually playing...

there was, though, what felt to me like a distinct, prevalent 2011 sound, or sound-world, or sound-concept, that was something of a through-line through many of my favorites: a lush, warm, synth-heavy but also organic-feeling aesthetic that was sometimes woozy and swoony, but not in a warped/texturally-distressed/chillwavey sense; sometimes subdued, often sophisticated-seeming, but definitely still pop and very melodic; definitely focused on sonic prettiness, but also surprisingly emotionally deep and complex.

i heard it throughout my (in some ways very different) three favorite albums of the year: When Saints Go Machine's Konkylie, Ada's Meine Zarten Pfoten, and Architecture In Helsinki's Moment Bends. (my "official" ranking of these three has been shuffled and reshuffled innumerable times by now; suffice to say i think each of them is something pretty special – all of them, incidentally, were pretty much completely unexpected discoveries for me.) i also heard it in much of Hercules & Love Affair's surprisingly varied and largely underrated (/misunderstood, i'd say) Blue Songs, not always in the danciest tracks (though sometimes) but in the more understand < songs > which form the album's heart.

i heard it in Wild Beasts' soft but squirmy Smother, in Twin Sister's dreamy, dappled and ultimately aptly-titled In Heaven, in Young Galaxy's lusciously thick-sounding Shapeshifting (which, like Taken By Trees' utterly phenomenal East of Eden two years back, owes much of its greatness to the sonic wizardry of Studio's Dan Lissvik), in the gentle meandering of Dixon's elegant Live at Robert Johnson mix, in the lovely soft pop of my friends Xylos, in ArchInHels's utterly lovely acoustic/electronic rework of Cut Copy's "Need You Now." and i heard shadings of it – in mood, if not necessarily sound – in music by Active Child, Austra, WhoMadeWho, Pallers, Panda Bear, Joan as Police Woman, Art Department, and total-fave-2011-discovery,-if-only-they-had-more-music, Benoit & Sergio. (and even, to some extent, and for what it's worth, in Bon Iver, Drake, Destroyer and some of M83.)

so, i guess, it was a great year for this particular muted, moody interstitial muddling of pop, rock and electronic. not necessarily what i think of as my favorite kind of music, but somehow that's what did it for me in 2011. and it did it just fine.

~

these are already on the sidebar. but just to make it officialishial, and put some pretty pictures together (eh, no great shakes really. devon's puppy wins this batch hands down; with ada's furry-paw donkey as a runner-up...) my favorites of last year: songs, albums; twenty, eleven.




[SONGS]1. Lana Del Rey: "Blue Jeans"
2. Lana Del Rey: "Video Games"
3. When Saints Go Machine: "Kelly"
4. Ada: "Keep Me In Mind"
5. Jens Lekman: "Waiting For Kirsten"
6. Azealia Banks: "212"
7. Beyoncé: "Countdown"
8. Xylos: "Not Enough"
9. Young Galaxy: "B.S.E. [Black Swan Event]"
10. Allo Darlin': "Tallulah" [*2010/2012]
11. Jacques Greene: "Another Girl"
12. Four Tet: "Pyramid"
13. Low: "Try To Sleep"
14. The Dø: "Too Insistent" (or Trentemøller remix)
15. Pallers: "Wicked"
16. Benoit & Sergio: "What I've Lost" [*'10]; "Walk and Talk"
17. Frank Turner: "Peggy Sang The Blues"
18. Soulja Boy "Zan With That Lean"
19. Hercules & Love Affair: "Boy Blue"; "Painted Eyes"
20. tUnE-yArDs: "Bizness"



[ALBUMS]
1. When Saints Go Machine, Konkylie
2. Ada, Meine Zarten Pfoten
3. Architecture in Helsinki, Moment Bends
4. Hercules and Love Affair, Blue Songs
5. Devon Sproule, I Love You Go Easy
6. Paul Simon, So Beautiful or So What
7. Mayer Hawthorne, How Do You Do + Impressions EP
8. Beyoncé, 4
9. Peter Björn and John, Gimme Some
10. Cults
11. Chrissy Murderbot, Women's Studies

the mix ends before the world

Happy February! So I guess I still owe us an albums list for 2011? I've sort of got one (check the sidebar) but I'm not particularly attached to it –I've switched things around a bit since completing my pazz'n'jop ballot and I'd probably rejigger it more (and possibly sneak in a couple of late-breaking discoveries straddling the 2011/2012 divide) if I were to post about it in earnest. We'll see.. Basically, 2011 felt like a pretty unexciting year for albums – in fact, I've already heard a couple of 2012 releases that I like way more than anything that came out last year (more on those soon...) And it kind of felt like an off year for music in general (though I've now come around to the feeling that it was an excellent year for singles, many of which I didn't fully catch on to until the final round of list-scanning and binge-downloading.)

In fact, I wasn't even sure if I was gonna make a year-encompassing mash-up dance mix this time 'round. But, of course, I did.

And here it is:

[now with a title!]
DANCE UNTIL THE MIX ENDS


[download here]

ETA: back once again with a tracklist:
Cults: Go Outside (2 Bears Remix)
James Blake: Limit To Your Love
Kelly Rowland ft. Lil Wayne: Motivation
Skrillex: Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites
Britney Spears: How I Roll
Wiz Khalifa: On My Level
Magnetic Man ft. Angela Hunter: I Need Air
YC: Racks
Soulja Boy: Zan with that Lean
Sepalcure: Pencil Pimp
Chris Brown ft. Busta Rhymes: Look at Me Now
DJ Khaled ft. Drake: I'm On One
Reema Major: I'm The One
DJ Diamond: Decoded
Kreayshawn: Gucci Gucci
Miiguel: Sure Thing
Kei$ha ft. Andre 6000: The Sleazy Remix
Deerhoof: Super Duper Rescue Heads
Star Slinger: Mornin'
Charles Bradley: The World is Going Up In Flames
Beyoncé: Countdown
The Throne: Otis
Washed Out: Amor Fati
Das Racist: Celebration
Lykke Li: Get Some
Big Freedia: Y'all Get Back Now
M83: Midnight City
Adele: Rollin in the Heat (Jamie xx remix)
Africa Hitech: Do You Really Want To Fight
Architecture in Helsinki: Escapee
tUnE-yArDs: Bizness
Fool's Gold: The Dive
Atropolis: Huepa Je
When Saints Go Machine: Kelly
Pictureplane: Body Mod
The Bees: Gaia
Rebecca Black: Friday
Katy Perry: TGIF
SebastiAn: Tetra
St. Vincent: Cruel
Bullion: Magic Was Ruler
Escort: Cameleon Chameleon
Twin Sister: Bad Street
Hercules & Love Affair: Painted Eyes
Hercules & Love Affair: My House (Stopmakingme remix)
Beyonce: End of Time
Todd Terje: Snooze4Love
Cut Copy: Need You Now
Coldplay: Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
The Rapture: Come Back To Me
Lana Del Rey: Blue Jeans
Lana Del Rey: Blue Jeans (Penguin Prison Remix)
DRC Music ft. Washiba: If You Wish To Stay Alive
Pallers: Wicked
Blawan: Getting Me Down
Yelle: Comme Un Enfant
DRC Music ft. Love: LOVE
The Very Best: Super Mom
Robyn: Call Your Girlfriend
The Kills: Nail In My Coffin
Kathryn Calder: Who Are You
Purity Ring: Ungirthed
Jamie xx: Far Nearer
Drake ft. Rihanna: Take Care
Benoit & Sergio: Walk and Talk
Lady Gaga: The Edge of Glory
Nicki Minaj: Super Bass
Azealia Banks: 212
Beyonce: Run the World
Nicola Roberts: Beat of My Drum
SBTRKT: Pharoahs
Peter Bjorn & John: Dig a Little Deeper (Mayer Hawthorne Remix)
Foster The People: Pumped Up Kicks
Big K.R.I.T. ft. Ludacris: Country Shit
Rihanna: S&M
Chrissy Murderbot ft. MC Zulu: The Vibe Is So Right
Jacques Greene: Another Girl
Maroon 5: Moves Like Jagger
Ill Blue: Meltdown
Rihanna: We Found Love
LMFAO: Party Rock Anthem
Omar ft. Don Lucenzo: Danza Kuduro
Buraka Som Sistema: Candonga
Jens Lekman: An Argument with Myself
Rustie: Ultra Thizz
Britney Spears: Til The World Ends
Four Tet: Pyramid
#OWS: 99% Chant

2011, all mixed up

In the past, I've had a policy of "saving" my emerging favorite favorite songs from an unfolding year – i.e. refraining from including them on mixes (or at least mass-distro mixes) and holding them back instead for a big bang-up year-end mix of songs. That delayed-gratification approach has resulted in some satisfying summing-ups which have stood up to time – notably, 2003's Such Great Heights [aka the duct tape mix]; Fun and Interesting: 2008 in Pop; and last year's H'010nanny! Other years I haven't made a year-end songs mix at all, or else I've made one that I didn't like much at that time and have forgotten about since (like the 2009 two-fer at the bottom of this post.)

This year, breaking my own rules willy-nilly, I made several mixes over the course of the year which did include most of my current-listening favorites – and what's worse I rejiggered the tracklists of these mixes and cherry-picked songs from them for use on later mixes – without necessarily ever settling on a finished stand-alone mix that I was completely happy with. (a similar process has happened with my year-end top ten lists this year – it's been that kind of year.) So in effect, I guess, my B3ST 0F 2oII M1XT@P3 has been a work-in-progress all year long.

Here are some tracklists – they may or may not exactly reflect the versions of mixes I may or may not have given you over the course of the year, but in the end why fuss; it's all good musik!

We Need a Mix*
1. Cults - Go Outside
2. Dom - Living in America
3. James Curd presents Ziggy Franklin - Shelter
4. Cornershop with Bubbley Kaur - Double Decker Eyelashes
5. Xylos - Not Enough
6. Britney Spears - How I Roll
7. Abigail Washburn - City of Refuge
8. David Wax Museum - Yes, Maria, Yes
9. The Kills - Nail In My Coffin
10. The Strokes - Taken For A Fool
11. Peter Bjorn and John - Dig A Little Deeper
12. Yelle - Comme Un Enfant
13. Zoey Van Goey - You Told The Drunks I Knew Karate
14. The Mountain Goats - Estate Sale Sign
15. About Group - There's A Way To End This Run Of Doubt
16. The Decemberists - Calamity Song
17. Deerhoof - Super Duper Rescue Heads!
18. Young Galaxy - B.S.E.
19. Revolver - Monk (Mini Mansions Cover)
20. Panda Bear - Slow Motion
21. Cut Copy - Need You Now (Architecture in Helsinki Version)

*titled in homage to the epic Okkervil River song which I liked [and whose title I especially liked, and took as sort of the thesis statement of their fascinating-but-not-quite-lovable album in my annoyingly non-linkable cowbell magazine article...come to think of it that album got weirdly and also unfairly shunted out of pretty much all year-end coverage i've come across, mine included...] but which I didn't manage to actually include on this or any mix...but equally as an appropriately descriptive/meaning-empty response to a slightly alarming feeling of having to do something with the already-overwhelming glut of sure-fine-yeah musical detritus that was accumulating in my 2011 headspace circa april, which must have been about when i made this.

i like the hipster/anti-hipster move of opening with two of the biggest blog hits of 2010, for the very sane reason that i was only just hearing/really getting into them. i also like lots of these songs, but ultimately the ones i really like the most are the ones that got pillaged for later editions...see below...

Summerville*
1. Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
2. Beyoncé - Countdown
3. Mayer Hawthorne - Work To Do
4. The Cool Kids ft. Mayer Hawthorne - Swimsuit
5. Dennis Coffey ft. Mayer Hawthorne - All Your Goodies Are Gone
6. Sebastian ft. Mayer Hawthorne - Love In Motion
7. Pictureplane - Real Is A Feeling
8. tUnE-yArDs - Bizness
9. When Saints Go Machine - Kelly
10. Architecture in Helsinki - Contact High
11. Ford & Lopatin - World of Regret
12. Wild Beasts - Lion's Share
13. Rye Rye ft. Robyn Never Will Be Mine
14. Teddybears ft. Robyn - Cardiac Arrest
15. Nicola Roberts - Beat Of My Drum
16. Kissy Sell Out ft. MC Zulu - Turn It On
17. Austra - Lose It
18. Ada -Keep Me In Mind
19. Benoit & Sergio - What I've Lost
20. Allo Darlin' - Tallulah
21. YACHT - Shangri-La

*because what we really need most is a summer mix, and can't get much simpler cuz i didn't think i could really pull off the Mangumian po'etry of "Cum Trees in the Summerville Breeze" q.v. the ginkgos outside my Inman Sq. [but over the line] Somer sublet., which was the phrase in my head every time i biked up prospect street past the field (The Field!) etc.... anyhow this is more like it. Mayer Hawthorne and Robyn get to be MVPs even tho they hadn't (yet) even put out anything much new of their own in 2011... some versions of this also included Junior Boys' "Banana Ripple," which (like the rest of their album) i kinda like but mostly just don't know what to do with. the closing sequence is really the clincher; I played it to end our midsummer backyard pool Shlock Party, and I kept it for what is essentially a cannibalistic combination of the two above mixes:

Glow in the Dark, Arrow in the Heart*
1. Cults: Go Outside (Menahan Street Band Remix)
2. Beyoncé: Countdown
3. Mayer Hawthorne: Work To Do
4. Xylos: Not Enough
5. Young Galaxy: B.S.E.
6. Pictureplane: Real Is A Feeling
7. ANR: It's Around You
8. tUnE-yArDs: Bizness
9. Cornershop & Bubbley Kaur: Double Decker Eyelashes
10. When Saints Go Machine: Kelly
11. Architecture in Helsinki: Contact High
12. Wild Beasts: Lion's Share
13. Abigail Washburn: City of Refuge
14. Mark McGuire: Chances Are
15. Active Child: Hanging On
16. Hercules & Love Affair: Boy Blue
17. Ada: Keep Me In Mind
18. Benoit & Sergio: What I've Lost
19. Allo Darlin': Tallulah
20. Y∆CHT: Shangri-La
[packaged in a pink sleeve]

*maybe not my favorite lyric from "Kelly" (the whole thing really is brilliant, even perversely so), but it's certainly a potent summation of what the song feels like, and likewise the love of any good song or season or, sure, boy. when i made this it was just early fall and i was touring through the southland, so the working/burning title of this was dixieville. i could've jiggered it more (maybe swapping in a MayHawt album original for the Isleys cover from the EP, but it just didn't feel right) but decided to let it stand as-is as one-half of my "official" "best of 2011" mix-package, along with:

A Swastika In Your Cappucino*
1. Lana Del Rey: Video Games
2. Jens Lekman: Waiting for Kisten
3. Frank Turner: Peggy Sang The Blues
4. Wilco: Dawned On Me
5. Lykke Li: I Follow Rivers
6. Low: Try To Sleep
7. When Saints Go Machine: Add Ends
8. The Dø: Too Insistent (Trentemøller Remix)
9. Paul Simon: Love Is Eternal Sacred Light
10. Kathryn Calder: Who Are You?
11. Peter Bjorn and John: Dig A Little Deeper (Mayer Hawthorne Remix)
12. Cults: Walk At Night
13. Baby Dee: The Pie Song
14. They Might Be Giants: Cloissoné
15. Devon Sproule: The Warning Bell
16. Darren Hayman: I Taught You How To Dance
17. James Blake: Lindisfarne II
18. Gillian Welch: Hard Times
19. St. Vincent: Champagne Year
20. The Throne: Made In America (Ft. Frank Ocean)
21. Joan As Police Woman: Human Condition
22. Cut Copy: Need You Now (Architecture in Helsinki Version)
[packaged in a baby boy blue sleeve, though come to think of it maybe they shoulda been switched]

*probably is my favorite lyric from "Kirsten," which is equally the most brilliant, heart-wrenching and hilarious lyric of the year, even if the string parts do cannibalize his past work. not sure it's a great mix title, but it's a great image, mental or actual (i drew it on some copies.) i agonized over this for a long time in isolation, and i guess i'm pretty happy with it by now. might have actually been easier to slim down to a single disc of for-sure favorites, but i like having space to include things like "Add Ends" (a more representative and possibly of-greater-wide-interest WSGM selection) and "Cloissoné" (definitely the standout of the semi-let-downish Join Us) and "The Pie Song" (hard to satisfactorily integrate, but equally hard to safely ignore) and especially "Human Condition," which I'd mostly forgotten about but does include some truly poignant lines which have made me almost cry multiple times (the opening verse, basically.)

....and then... all the end of year lists and whatsits started coming out, and i went on my usual year-end catch-up downloading rampage, and started totally jamming out to all these awesome techno/hip-hop/weirdpop/rnb songs i'd mostly not even heard previously, plus a few poppier jams that hadn't quite fit in with other iterations. and, mostly, i just wanted to dance, and jam out. so i burned this one up quick, and gave it to some of you. it's a mix of my favorite songs in the history of the world ever, circa the last week of december 2011. and i would like it to be called:

Teeth Ring, Ears Click
1. Jai Paul: BTSTU
2. Purity Ring: Ungirthed
3. Miguel: Sure Thing
4. The Weeknd: The Morning
5. Kelly Rowland ft. Lil Wayne: Motivation
6. Jacques Greene: Another Girl
7. Jamie xx: Far Nearer
8. Adele: Rolling In The Deep (Jamie xx Shuffle)
9. Soulja Boy: Zan With That Lean
10. Big K.R.I.T feat. Ludacris & Bun B: Country Shit (Remix)
11. Azaelea Banks: 212
12. Ill Blu: Meltdown
13. Blawan: Getting Me Down
14. Don Omar ft. Lucenzo: Danza Kuduro
15. Modeselektor ft. Busdriver: Pretentious Friends
16. Lana Del Rey: Blue Jeans (Penguin Prison Remix)
17. Franz Ferdinand: No You Girls (Trentemøller Remix)

okay, i give up... maybe next year i'll just make some mix tapes for the sake of making some mix tapes, and leave it at that. or maybe i'll just make spotify playlists, once i figure out what that's supposed to be, exactly? i just joined, i'm intrigued...we'll see? well anyway, hope you like the music.